“Its high school - dammit. Kids will play pranks. Did he deserve to be suspended? Yes - maybe 3 days max. Did he deserve to be handcuffed? NO!!! “
I probably would not have even suspended him. Think about it. If this was his first offense then just make him stay after school and write “I will not interrupt a football game again” 500 times on the black board. No need to go overboard with suspending a kid and keeping him from the classroom.
If the student has a diagnosed disorder (especially if that disorder is on the Autism spectrum), and is thus on an IEP, then making him write on the board 500 times would likely not be an option. Suspension would likely be the only option available to school staff. There is much that goes on within public education that adminstrators and teachers have zero control over, and of which the general public is unaware of it going on.